Maintaining status quo under IMF
The government has put to rest all misconceptions and ambiguities surrounding its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that started with the arrival of the mission led by Nathan Porter on 31st January, 2023. The finance minister held a press conference and announced that the government and the IMF had reached an agreement, and the much-awaited Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) was received early in the morning on 10th February, 2023. In its official statement before departure, the IMF mission reported the conclusion of its talks with the government citing commitments from the prime minister of Pakistan. The news had already sunk into the markets, and the dollar had retreated around 6 rupees against the rupee in intraday trading on 9th February. While there were many rumours about the IMF being tough and the negotiations coming to a deadlock, even after many verbal assurances by the government, the IMF did not make the programme conditional on requirements that were not part of the previous fund facilities or standby arrangements.